Updated: September 25, 2025

Regardless of how one feels about Halloween, it is always interesting to take note of current trends as a barometer of how cultural norms and tastes have changed from previous eras.

Before sharing what has changed, we like to point out that Candy Corn forever remains the most polarizing of all Halloween candy. We appreciate Candy’s Store take on the often misunderstood sweet, which we believe puts the iconic candy in proper perspective.

To satisfy our own curiosity, we searched for updated stats, surveys, trivia and trends to assess the state of Halloween in the year 2025.

Here’s what we found.

Table of Contents

Also see:

 

Halloween Consumer Trends & Stats 2025

Halloween is the second largest commercial holiday after Christmas. Shopping periods for both Halloween and Christmas continue to expand, overtaking larger display space in retail stores. For example, Halloween continues to encroach on the Back-to-School/Fall shopping season, while Christmas displays, in turn, begin to appear before Thanksgiving and even Halloween.

According to Accio, here are the the top-selling candy bars on Amazon as of September 2025:

If you plan to offer candy to children, or adults, or both groups, you’ll want to visit Instacart’s updated post on the Most Popular Halloween Candy.

Instacart's Candy Cornucopia U.S. Map that shows the most uniquely popular Halloween candy by state

Instacart’s U.S. Map that shows the most uniquely popular Halloween candy per state
Image courtesy of Instacart.

Here is their current national Top 10 Most Popular Halloween Candy in the United States using sales data from October 2024:

Instacart's Top 10 Most Popular Halloween Candies, October 2024 Data

Instacart’s Top 10 Most Popular Halloween Candies, October 2024 Data
Image courtesy of Instacart

For industry stats pertaining to Halloween shopping most, if not all, media outlets cite the same source: The National Retail Federation (NRF). Here are highlights from their 2025 Halloween report.

NRF Halloween 2025 Historical Spending by Year from years 2015 through 2025

NRF Halloween 2025 Historical Spending by Year from years 2015 through 2025
Image courtesy of NRF.

Halloween 2025 Retail Statistics for the United States


73%

Percentage of US Consumers Planning to Celebrate Halloween: 73%

Almost three-quarters of American consumers plan to celebrate Halloween in 2025, slightly up from last year’s 72%, and tying 2023’s record-setting consumer participation level of 73%.

$13.1B

The total estimated amount that US consumers will spend on Halloween in 2025 is $13.1 billion dollars. This amount exceeds the previous $12.2 billion record set in 2023, and is 13% higher than the $11.6B spent in 2024.

49%

Early Halloween shopping was on the rise again this year, with 49% of survey participants beginning their shopping before October. This figure is up significantly from 22% five years ago and 44% ten years ago in 2015.

NRF Halloween 2024 Early Shopping Trends infographic years 2015 through 2025

NRF Halloween 2025 Early Shopping Trends infographic years 2015 through 2025
Image courtesy of NRF

Breakdown of US Consumer Spending on Halloween

  • Candy: $3.9B, 96% of Shoppers
  • Costumes: $4.3B, 71% of Shoppers
  • Decoration: $4.2B, 78% of Shoppers
  • Greeting Cards: $0.7B, 38% of Shoppers
NRF Halloween 2025 Top Halloween Costumers by Consumer Groups Children, Pets and Adults

NRF Halloween 2025 Top Halloween Costumers by Consumer Groups: Children, Pets and Adults
Image courtesy of NRF

Also see:

Most Popular Halloween Activities

  • Handing Out Candy: 66%
  • Decorating the House or Yard: 51%
  • Wearing a Costume: 51%
  • Carving Pumpkins: 46%
  • Hosting or Attending a Party: 32%
NRF (National Retail Federation) 2024 Halloween Trends and Statistics Infographics

Halloween 2025 Trends and Statistics Infographic courtesy of NRF (National Retail Federation)

$2B

NRF estimates that $2 billion will be spent on Halloween costumes for adults, a projected decline of approximately 11% versus 2024.

$860M

NRF estimates that $860 million will be spent on costumes for pets in 2025, 23% more than 2024!

Where US Consumers Shop for Halloween

  • Discount Stores: 42%
  • Online: 31%
  • Specialty Halloween/Costume Stores: 31%
  • Grocery Stores/Supermarkets: 25%
  • Departments Stores: 25%
  • Home Decor Stores: 21%
  • Crafts or Fabrics Stores: 14%
  • Home Improvement Stores: 14%
  • Thrift Stores/Resale Shops: 11%
  • Clothing Stores: 11%
  • Local/Small Businesses: 12%
  • Greeting Card/Gift Stores: 9%
  • Drug Stores: 6%
  • Catalog: 4%
  • Other: 3%
NRF Halloween 2025 Where Are Consumers Shopping? Infographic

NRF Halloween 2025 Where Are Consumers Shopping? Infographic
Image courtesy of NRF

About the 2025 NRF Halloween Survey

The 2025 NRF Halloween survey was fielded to 8,045 consumers aged 18+ from September 2 to September 9 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 1.1 percentage points.

Additional Halloween Metrics for Other Time Frames or from Other Sources

82%

The percentage of US Households with Children that celebrated Halloween in 2021. (Source: NRF)

55%

The percentage of US Households without Children that celebrated Halloween in 2021. (Source: NRF)

133M

The latest estimated number of homes or apartments where people live and are possible places for trick-or-treaters to visit according to the US Census in 2023.

72.8M

The number of total potential US Trick-or-Treaters, estimated by the number of children under age 18 in 2023 from the US Census.

41M

The number of total potential US Trick-or-Treaters, estimated by the number of children under aged 5 to 14 in 2022 from the US Census.

1,200

The estimated number of professional Haunted Attractions in the US according to AmericaHaunts.com. They also list that there are 300 theme parks that operate horror-themed events and over 3,000 charity-run “spook shows”.

100

The approximate number of countries that celebrate Halloween according to AmericaHaunts.com.

42

The approximate number of countries that celebrate Halloween in some fashion according to the World Population Review

732

The estimated number of formal wear and costume rental establishments in the United States as of 2022 according to the US Census, up 4.5% from 700 in 2021.

3,399

The number of US confectionery and nut stores in 2022, according to the US Census, up from 3,227 in 2021.

1/4

The portion of ALL candy sold annually in the U.S. that is purchased for Halloween, according to History.com.

Also see:

 

Halloween Homeowners Insurance Scares

 

The 4 Most Common Horrors for Homeowners on Halloween

November 1st is a very busy day for insurance adjusters. The four most perilous horrors for homeowners during Halloween night are:

  1. Unexpected Fires
  2. Vandalism or Theft
  3. Injuries on Your Property
  4. Dog Bites

The good news is that all of these types of incidents are covered under most standard insurance policies.

Also see:

When Violent Crimes Most Occur on Halloween

According to EMC Security, statistically, most violent crimes occur between 7 pm and 1 am, peaking at 10 pm – the times also favored by trick-or-treaters on Halloween.

 

Beware of Real Estate Non-Disclosures

 

9

The number of states that have laws around the disclosure of a death on the property:

  • California requires disclosure if the death occurred within 3 years of the sale
  • Alaska requires disclosure within 1 year of the sale
  • South Dakota requires discloser of homicides only
  • The following states require disclosure only if asked: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, New Hampshire, New Jersey and South Carolina

4

The number of states that specifically mention paranormal activity in their real estate disclosure laws: Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey and New York.

  • Massachusetts and Minnesota both declare that paranormal activity is unnecessary to disclose
  • New Jersey requires disclosure only if asked by prospective buyers
  • New York requires that sellers must disclose only if they had previously disclosed activity publicly

The Ghostbusters Ruling

A New York state ruling from 1991 that ruled in favor of an out-of-town homebuyer that the seller failed to disclose a ghost. The buyer was allowed to back out of the contract and was returned the down payment. Locals knew about the home’s haunted reputation. In fact, the original owner of the disputed house had previously advertised it as a haunted attraction for paranormal enthusiasts. However, this knowledge was not widely known outside of the local community.

Also see:

 

Halloween Trivia

 

30,581

The number of lit jack-o’-lanterns on display by the town of Keene, New Hampshire that set the Guinness world record in October 2013.

1927

According to FactRetriever.com, the first known mention of trick-or-treating in print in North America occurred in 1927 in Blackie, Alberta, Canada.

Black & Orange

According to the Library of Congress, black and orange as the official colors of Halloween traces back to the Celtic festival of Samhain. For the Celts, black represented the end of summer while orange symbolized the autumn harvest season.

“Home Haunters”

“Home Haunters” is the nickname given to Halloween enthusiasts who create Halloween attractions at home simply for the love of it.

For more Halloween trivia also see:

 

Halloween Tips & Resources for Homeowners

The most important advice for homeowners that plan on giving out candy on Halloween night is to make sure that the approach to your property and front door is safe and free of hazards, especially for young children. Homeowners should test out the walkway to their front door several nights prior to Halloween so they have ample time to make any necessary corrections. Be sure to conduct your review under similar circumstances as Halloween night (e.g. same time of day with all planned special effects and lighting turned on). It is prudent to have ample outdoor lighting instead of trying to create an overly dark, scary atmosphere that is less safe to visitors.

For homeowners not planning to give out candy or who will not be home, be sure to keep your outdoor lights off, as this is a well-known signal that candy is not being offered at the given home.

Also see these helpful Halloween resources:

 

More Recommended Entertaining-at-Home Articles

 

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